


This Dark Brightness that Falls from the Stars

by yinyangswings (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aliens, Bad Aliens, Bilingual Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Blood and Injury, Blood and Torture, Blood and Violence, Canon Divergence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Galra Empire, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Lance (Voltron), M/M, Mental Breakdown, Mind Rape, Minor Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Original Character(s), Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Protective Keith (Voltron), Protective Voltron Paladins, Psychological Torture, Torture, Voltron Lions - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-10 18:34:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15955115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/yinyangswings
Summary: The pressure returned and the distant ringing returned to deafening, the world blinding in white.He was screaming. Or at least he thought he was screaming.Then darkness flooded his vision. Falling, falling, falling…He was...He was…Who was he?During a diplomatic meeting on a friendly planet, Lance vanishes. After searching frantically for the lost paladin, Lance is rescued from the Galra, and it is believed to be an attempt by the empire to destroy Voltron. He refuses to speak of what happened during his capture, and states he's fine, but as time passes, his actions and personality changes leads the team to believe everything is not alright and that something is very, very wrong with Lance. When the truth comes to light, relationships will be tested, and lives will inevitably be changed.The beginning takes place between the episodesCrystal VenomandCollection and Extraction. The rest is pretty much with canon, but there will be divergences and changes.





	1. Falling

_His name was Lance McClain, he was the Blue Paladin of Voltron. He was the sharpshooter. His name was Lance McClain. His name…_

_He opened his eyes, and saw he was standing at the edge of Varadero Beach. Blinking, he looked around as the sounds of seagulls echoed around him, waves crashing on the bank. He glanced down as water lazily lapping at his ankles, frowning. He couldn’t feel the water._

_“Wha-“_

_The water suddenly wrapped around his legs and dragged him down under the waves. Then he was falling down, down, down…_

_The blue of the ocean vanished, replaced by inky black, swallowing his screams. He remembered now. They had stopped on a nearby planet after nearly dying when Alfor's AI had been corrupted. It was part diplomatic mission, part a small break from nearly dying. He had gone outside for just some air, everything too stuffy in there even for him. And he...he was-_

_He suddenly stopped falling, gasping and looking over spotted the Blue Lion lying on the ground, prone, eyes dark and vacant._

_“Blue? Blue, what’s wrong?!”_

_The lion didn’t move, still and silent. Lance swallowed in panic._

_“Hello?! Shiro? Allura? Pidge? Hunk? Keith?” He called out. “Anyone?!”_

**_“Lance…”_ **

_He spun around, a sob escaping as he spotted his mother standing there, a smile etched on her face. He stumbled as he tried to reach her, arms extended out._

**_“My niño. My disappointment.”_ **

_“M...mama?”_

**_“Don’t you see Niño? They didn’t want you.”_ **

**_T̻̼̞̜͚̓̂ͣ̇͆h̐ͭ̃̍ͤ͒e̩̱̹̯̞ͪ̐ͅy ̳͔͍͍̖͔̙l̩͔͓̪̈ͧͩͩͩͣeͭ͋͆ͯ̐f̜̭̠͙̥̂̎ͬ̿̀ͤ̐t͕̻͔͔̃ ̮̝̪̩͎̩ͯ͆ͫ͊ỷo̿u̞̙̳͖̅̐͒ͦ̊̔̏.̖̩̱̞ͭ̉ͯ͆͋ ̰͔̲̻͚͕͇T̳̮͎͔̑ͤ̂͂͒͑h̐̇̎͒̓ͩͩe̬̖̭̟͗͗̎̒͆̄y̭͍͔̹̤̥̩ͣ̃ ̠͎͈̩͐̾͋̈ͤͤͣa͌̎b͓͈͔̦͎̫͐a̝̩n̟̖̦̰̠̗d̜͍̣̞͋̐͐̽ô̳̦͈͓͉̟͆n̬̬̤̪̹̗͎̅ͮͣ͆̂́e͍ͯd̠̹͇̮͓̆̃̊ͮ̈̌ ̠͈͈̤̻͔̽͂̊̿ͧͯy̮͚͐̐̑̈̌̈́ö͔̣̬͚̎̀̑ͬ͊u͇̭̫͓̠ ̣̭̪̫̝̪̘̂͂̂ͤͮt̘̞̬͇̬̯̪o̙̦͎͈ͬ̐͋ ̺̻̳͎̤̤̰̌u̩͓̬ͨś̰̮̼͉̻̆ͤ͆ͅͅ.͂̉͐̄̈́ͨ ̓ͥ̂͆͑̚_ **

_“No...no they wouldn’t do that. They wouldn’t! I...I-“ Lance stammered, his throat constricting as he shook his head. He covered his ears as the layered voices echoed, unable to escape, unable to hide. His back burned as he tried to twist away, and a sob escaped his throat._

_“No! Stop!!” He begged, “please...please stop, I’m begging you...stop.” He sobbed as he felt his mother’s hands cup his face, humming a lullaby that seemed out of tune and not like her at all. The metallic scent of blood filled the air and Lance couldn’t get rid of it and the shadows began to grow, wrapping around his legs, sliding higher and higher up.  
Consuming him, dragging him deeper and deeper._

**_Yͫ͛ͬ̌ͨo̪͕͕ͦ͋̈́u̯̼̖͓̎ͪͯ̚ ͇͈̼̞̟a̫̔ͪͥr̤͚̗͈ͭͨ͛e̖̦͋̔̎ͬ ̩̲̳̲̝͈̮̉ͭ̿ͤ͐ͭn͚͕͕̓̏ó̰̙̮̠̳̙̘ṯ͎̱͓͚͇͛̓̏́̈̑̇h͔͐i͎͍̗ͥ̇̀̓̌̐̇ͅn̞͍̺̏̄g̩̗̤ͧ̉̾̿̚ ̬̝̪͚͎́̓̈́̿̌ͨ͐t̰̖ͤ̃̉̾̒̉͂óͫ ̋̆͒̈́t̥͖̞̫̓ͣ̌̽̏̓́h͙̆͑̈ͧem̭͓͉̹̳̭̘.̺͈̋ͥ͛̇͆͊_ **

**_N̺̙̿ͥͪÒ͆͂̏͗ͯT̸ͧͥ̈H͚ͣ̅̊̿͒ͅͅI̱̜̲͔ͦ̉̑ͧͤ̈͡N͎̲̋͑̏̿G͖͚͑ͩ̂̇ͤ.̛̉_ **

_He felt a familiar tug on his hand. A nudge. A tether that couldn’t be broken._

_He clenched his fist around it, a lifeline. And he was drowning. Drowning._

_And distantly, he heard a roar._

* * *

Honestly, they should have noticed the moment it got significantly quieter on the planet they had been on trying to get another ally against the Galra. The natives of Obasis Prime were loud, but they shouldn’t have been able to miss Lance leaving the party.

At first it was annoying, then infuriating, because they thought it had been a badly timed joke.

Now it was frighteningly worrying.

Sure Lance had been known as the idiot goofball, but even he wouldn’t have stayed out this long without contacting someone. Keith glanced out of the window staring at the vast, seemingly empty space that lay ahead of them.

There had been nothing from Lance. No distress signal, no radio call.

Nothing.

They had been searching for him ever since, trying to get something, anything, while avoiding the Galra. They were down a paladin, meaning they were down a lion, unable to form Voltron. Vulnerable. Keith swallowed in anger at the thought of the Blue Lion. Despite Allura’s best attempt, she couldn’t sense Lance through the Blue Lion. Which meant many things in his mind. That something was wrong with the Blue Lion. Or that Lance was-

Keith shook his head vigorously, unwilling to accept that idea.

He turned the corner and glanced down the hall that their rooms were. They were all closed, and no sound was heard from any of the rooms. He shifted uneasily. 

Quiet.

Everything was quiet. The princess, Coran, the paladin, the lions...it seemed even the castle was quiet now. Gone was the joking and complaining that echoed through the halls. Gone was the laughter, or the light-hearted teasing. It was...depressing. Once, he would have been overjoyed with some peace and quiet, but now it was just wrong. Everyone seemed to not talk about him, avoided the topic like the plague.

It was as if everyone was grieving for Lance’s death.

But he refused. Lance was too stubborn to die. 

“Keith?”

Startled, he turned quickly.

“H-hey Shiro.”

“Everything okay?”

“I’m fine, why?”

“You’re standing in front of Lance’s room. And have been staring at it for a few minutes.”

“...so?”

“Keith, you’re allowed to miss him too.”

“I don’t miss him!” Keith exclaimed, cheeks burning all of a sudden. A look of exasperation passed across his face and Keith looked away. “I don’t.”

“Of course you don’t.”

The disbelief and almost humor in the older man’s voice sent the fire burning across Keith’s cheeks into a blaze.

“It’s just...he would have contacted us by now.” Keith muttered. “Right?”

“Yes.”

“But he hasn’t.”

“Keith…”

“And the Blue Lion hasn’t reacted at all...”

“Keith, we’ll find him. We’re not going to abandon Lance.”

Keith looked away, swallowing back the words that yearned to break loose. _But what if they didn’t find him? What if...what if…_

“Keith.”

He glanced at Shiro again, crossing his arms, embarrassed that he was this worried. It was Lance. If a bomb didn’t kill him, nothing would.

 _“That is unrealistic, and you know it.”_ A voice whispered in the back of his mind and he frowned. Suddenly alarms blared, and the two men looked up before bolting down the hall, reaching the bridge in record time.

“Allura! What’s going on??”

“The Blue Lion has suddenly woken and is trying to get out of her hangar!” Coran answered for her, as Allura tried to connect with the Lion. She shook her head, frowning.

“She’s not letting me contact her completely. I can just feel her panic. It’s almost on the edge of hysteria.”

“Maybe it’s Lance! Maybe she’s sensing him!” Hunk exclaimed, hope brimming in his voice.

“But where? There isn’t-”

Before Pidge could even finish the refute, more alarms rang out in the control room. Coran quickly brought the screen up and frowned.

“Looks like a Galra cruiser.”

“You think they have Lance?”

“Okay, okay. I’m picking up some of their transmissions. It’s a garbled mess and the translator that I made is still a bit rough, but they’re talking about a prisoner.” Pidge replied, swallowing. 

“So logically, that probably means-”

A roar echoed and the castle shuddered from an impact.

“Everyone suit up and get to our lions. We’ll have Blue wait here while we just check and see if Lance is there.”

“I don’t think Blue is going to sit by and wait anymore.” Hunk said as the lion’s roar echoed again through the halls. Shiro frowned.

“Let’s go team!” He said and the three paladins nodded, hurrying to their hangars. Keith couldn’t stop the stab of dread as he raced to his access way to the lion. Blue’s emotions were like a curtain. They could all feel them.

Shaking his head he focused forward. They’d find him.

He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

* * *

_“Alright Pidge, you go in stealth mode and see if there’s a place that we can safely board the cruiser without detection.”_

_“On it.”_

And now they had to wait. He hated waiting. Waiting always meant something bad was going to happen. He had waited before and bad things always happened to him because of it.  
Waiting for his mom to come home, waiting for the doctors to tell him his father hadn’t made it, waiting as people frantically tried to contact the Kerberos fleet and then waiting to have Iverson tell him the mission was lost, that Shiro was dead.

He shook his head. 

Waiting….waiting was never good. And he hated waiting.

_“Starting download of the ship’s schematics.”_

_“Good work.”_

“Princess, Coran. How’s Blue?”

_“Not moving for the moment, but I don’t think that’s going to last. The Lion is furious.”_

Keith frowned, glancing at the asteroid belt that they had hidden the castle in. He didn’t want to think what that meant.

“Come on Pidge.”

_“Alright, alright! There’s an opening towards the rear of ship. Probably what they use to throw out their waste._

_“Ewwww.”_

_“It’s better than nothing. Keith, you and Red are the fastest. Pidge, Hunk, and I will distract the cruiser while you enter on the back.”_

“But The Green Lion...” Keith began but shook his head. “Right, on it!”

_“Let’s go team!”_

_“On it!”_

Keith fought back the snort as he throttled Red forward, her anger of the whole situation thrumming through his veins, making his anger spike.

If Lance was on this ship there would be hell to pay.

* * *

He was suddenly remembering his extreme dislike of Galra ships and how every hallway looked the quiznaking same now. He cursed under his breath as he turned a corner.

_“Keith, hows the reconnaissance?”_

“About as well as you think.” He hissed out as he hid behind a pillar, several sentries rushing by him. 

_“You should be in the brig. There are cells around you.”_

“I don’t see anything that just screams prison cell. Pidge, you might have been wrong the schematics, because this doesn’t look like-”

He cut off as he opened a door to check and froze, breath leaving him as he stared at the form slumped against the wall, still as death.

_“Keith? Keith, what’s wrong!?”_

“Lance...I found Lance.” Keith managed before hurrying into the cell. “Lance, Lance wake up! Please wake up.” 

He was sure Shiro had said something, an order maybe, but it was lost as Lance didn’t so much as respond, dried blood disrupting once pristine skin, a few seconds later and he found the culprit; a large cut across the forehead that curved around the temple before tapering off. It was old, and if he was correct, had been healed, opened, then rehealed.  
Something chilled his core and he swallowed roughly.

“...eith?”

He jumped and looked back to Lance’s eyes, the tension draining from his shoulder as he saw Lance’s eyes open a fraction, staring at him blankly.

“Hey…” He said softly. “Had us worried there for a bit.”

Lance blinked sluggishly, just staring at him. Keith frowned at how quiet he was, something twisting in his gut.

“We’ve found you. You’re fine. Hang on okay? You don’t get to die now. I...”

He swallowed as he tried to think up something to say. He sucked at pep talks. He just sucked at them and with Lance staring at him like that...it was difficult to concentrate on an upbeat pep talk. However, before he could come up with something else to talk about, something changed in Lance’s expression and he began to shake his head sluggishly.

“Not again…” he muttered, “please...por favor, stop.”

“Lance?”

“You’ve...you’ve...proved your point…they aren’t coming...” He continued to weakly say, trying to move away from Keith. “Dejame solo.”

“Lance, it’s me.” Keith hissed desperately, but the Blue Paladin shook his head, seemingly regretting it in an instant.

“They’re not coming…”

“Lance, please.” Keith begged, kneeling down, and cupping his comrade’s face in his hands, staring into the glazed eyes. “It’s me, you idiot. I swear, it’s me.”

Lance stared at him, eyes dazed but now glittering with tears, biting his bottom lip hard, reluctant to believe him.

“They-”

“I’m real, okay? Come on, don’t you trust me? We had a bonding moment. I-”

“Cradled...cradled me in your...arms.” Lance muttered weakly and Keith laughed harshly.

“Oh so you do remember?” 

“Never...never said that...” Lance replied and Keith huffed, before glancing towards the entrance.

“I need to get you out of here. Can you stand?”

Lance only offered a slight head shake. 

“Okay...well…” He stopped suddenly, turning abruptly and summoning his bayard at the sound of footsteps echoing down the hall.

“Keith!”

Relief flooded the Red Paladin as Shiro turned the corner and he entered the cell, Hunk close behind him.

“Lance!”

“Lance, buddy!!” Hunk cried out in relief, and the Blue Paladin shifted slightly, but made no other movement. 

“He’s in bad shape” Keith said quickly, “I’m not sure what the Galra did to him. But he’s pretty out of it.”

Shiro hurried over to them and to the side that was unoccupied by Keith, ducking under to help support Lance. The moment Shiro’s hand rested on Lance’s back to support him, however, the Blue Paladin came alive with a hiss of pain, a keening sound escaping from his throat. Shiro quickly moved his arm away, looking at the Paladin in concern, as Lance shook his head groggily.

“Don’t...don’t touch…”

“...Keith you’re going to have to carry him.”

He would have argued before, Keith mused as he did what was asked of him. Would have suggested Hunk be the one to carry Lance. After all, Hunk was Lance’s friend. But this wasn’t the time or place.

 _“Did you find Lance?”_ Pidge’s voice echoed through their comlinks.

“Affirmative, but he’s in bad shape.”

“M’fine.” Lance muttered and the other three looked at one another, worry evident on their faces.

“Pidge, get us an escape route for our lions off the ship. Anything at all.” Shiro said as they ran down the hall.

_“Working on it!”_

They slid to a stop as they turned a corner, the sentries turning towards the sound.

_“What’s-”_

“Quiznak!” Hunk yelled, cutting Pidge off, his bayard lifting and beginning to fire, Shiro standing in front of Keith and Lance, shield raised. He only got about two shots before the sound of tearing metal tore through the hall and the sentries only managed to look up before the metal ceiling split open and a large mechanical snout pierced through.

“Blue…” Lance murmured, staring at the lion with a mixture of pain and relief, eyes growing glassier by the minute. 

“Way to go, Blue! Right on time.” Hunk cheered and the lion let out slight rumble. Shakily, Lance pressed a hand on the snout, unspoken words exchanged between pilot and lion.

“Are the other lions nearby Pidge?” Shiro asked.

_“They’re right behind The Blue Lion. They must have sensed trouble.”_

“Yeah well Blue took care of the trouble.” Hunk said as Blue’s mouth opened. They scrambled inside and Lance stumbled into standing, leaning heavily against the side of the maw.

“Lance-”

“I’m fine...get...just get to Red.” Lance ground out, cutting Keith off and he moved forward, eyes glinting with life. “I’ll drop you three off to your lions.”

“Lance.”

“I’m….I’m fine. Let’s just go.”

Keith wasn’t so sure at how accurate that statement was. Alarms blared behind them and Lance walked forward as best he could, trying to be strong but they couldn’t mistake the flinch as he practically slid down into his seat.

“Lance, you sure?”

“I’m fine. Let’s just go.” Lance repeated and the three other Paladins glanced at each other before nodding, the sounds of alarms and yelling growing louder.

A look passed over Lance’s face as they exited the cockpit, ready to jump out of the Blue Lion’s jaw to reach their own lions, hands trembling as they reached for the controls. He shook his head

He was fine.

He was fine.

* * *

_He was Lance McClain. Blue Paladin of Voltron._

_He was Lance McClain._

_Lance...McClain._

**_“̬̮̇̈̔̔ͥṮ͎ͮͮh̞̖̱̩̩͍͖e͓̱ͨ ͉̥͇̘ͮͧ̍̌͗B͚͊́ͯl̙̤͖̮̩̳ͣͭ̒̎́̎u̮̬͖̭͓̭͓̍͒̍̓ͬ̽ͫe͙̽ͥ̎̐ͩ̿ͬ ̼̭̤̜ͦ̽P̖͈͍â͉̻͎ͧ̈́͒l̼̫̣͈̺̭ͪ͋ͅa̻̩̝̫̺̱d̹͓̈i͕̱̹̔ǹ̙͉̖͉͈͓̏.̦̯̼̹̘̤̇ͫ̍̎.͈̞̟̜̂.̮͌ͤ͒w͔͎͉̤ͦ̂h͍̰͚͒ͫ̈̒͗́̚a͆t̝̗͚ͩ̆ ͚̰̬̺͍̩͖̑̇̒ä́͂ ̹̥́̇̄ͦ͐͊s̙͎̮ẉ̭͆e̯eẗ̤ ̝̱͕̺̦̻̪̓͑̔͊͑t͓̿͗r̬̣͖͍̘̳ͩͧe̼̲͕͙̽̿a̤̰̘͔̪ͯ̊t̐̈̽ͪ.̖͉̰̹̜̦̈́ͪͨ̑”̝͆͆̈ͩͨ̓̚_ **

_Straining against the bonds, yearning to break free. Silence other than that voice, that voice pressing into his mind, deeper and deeper. Pain. It hurt. Everything hurt._

**_“̞̮̼̭͉́ͮ͒͒̈́͋Ǔ͎̘̋̔s̠͚̦͍͉̝͗͌͋̽̏ͤ̾ȅ̲͒̂ͧ͆l͎̽͑̎͂̒͒e͊s̪̥̥̰̼̼̣͗s̭̮̖̺̮̎͊̓̒̆́.̭̟͚͑͗̋̅̚ ̦̤̩͕̱̘̓̓̿ͅU̞͙̹̳̓n͔̜̰͓̟ͫ̔ͣͭͥ̂̓ń̩͉͙ͅȇͧc̟̹͓͚̫̱͗ͪͪͭ̓̾̿e̹̼̥̻s̜̲̪̤̾̇̂͒̎s̏̆ͯ̇å͖͈͌r͉̜̰̺͈ͅy͖͍̯͕͖̙̱͊̽͂̄̓̂͛.̟̜̟̹ ͍͔̭͓͔ͤ͑ͩ̿U̩̗̘̗ͩñ͎̳̭̹ͬ͋̈ͅw̭̠̜̱̩ͅa̗͇̲̘̒n̟͉̮͎tͣ̔̌̀ͪ̊e̠͙ͭͯ͂̃ḓ͉̓̌͊̃̊.̤͈͖ ͔͎̫̘̜̹͑ͯ̔̎ͥO̻̲̪͓̟̟u̩̲r̝͇͈̮̫̍̒̌̔ś̥̃̉ͤ.̙̠͙̜͕͆͂͊͌̇̽̚”̱͉̠̊̋̇ͭ_ **

_“Stop. Please stop.” He begged as the voice laughed. He could hear Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk, everyone. He let out a sob as he heard his mother’s voice layered amongst the rest._

**_“͎̗̖̯̹̱͑̓ͣ͑̅I̬̩͙t̹ͦ̎̄̀ͪ̈́̈ ̜͓̼̳̃̽̐̿ͣw͙̭͕̙͐̈̅̌̑͌̈i̙͇̙͗̅l̠͉̻̣̺̯̖̓̓͊̇͑̄l͈͕̮̯͙̫͎͆͛ͦͥ̓ͥ ̪͒̓̍ͬͩ̔̂s̪̼͐ͥͬt͍̯͍̮ͅo̺̭ͭͫͪͬ̊͑̊ͅṗ̺͚̬͉̄̄ ̞͕͚w̥̜͈͔̤͚̠ͪ̐ͯ͂̋h̎̂̐̈́̇̀ͦe͓̝̠̱͕̯͓̐̃̃n̲̖ͣͩ̆̒ ̔̀͊̚w̲̪͖̱͈̩̻ͩ̀ͪe̺̳͚̰̥͉̗ ͓̤̔ͤͨ͒ͧd̻̄͂ͤe̱͖̖͍ͮ͗ͅͅs̰̹̫͕͇̺ͅi̜͓̞ͯ͂ͪ̇̈̌r̆e̲͕̞̊̀̌̀ ̏i̔͗̊͛͆t̥̙͎͉̻̺̳ͫ̃ͤ͆ͩ͐ ̪̱͔̺͍͍͋ͦt͓͔͎̞͇̔̌̓ͪ͗ͤͅo̝̪̭͋ͯͯ̀̈́ͨ̾ ͛ͫ͛s̆ͥͨ̄t̬̋͌o͚͍̼ͨͪͧͪͮͅp̰̩͓̠̤̖̘̌̒ ̫̰͆ͥ̀͑P̝ͩͬ̃͆a̭̠̓ͣͧ͆͌͑̓l͈͖̥̗̗ͮ̄̀̄̈́a̺̦ͧͧͦd͖͐ͥ̐ͪin̟̬͖̱̘̥͖ͧͪ̈́ͮ͊.ͩ͋ ̤̯ͪ̍̓ͦU̳̻͙̦͖̯̬͐̓̉̋̊̀ͪs͌͆͊̎̄͂e͇̹̭̘̣̻̍̃l̼͔̤̘͇̲̣ͫ͑ͧ̽̎̆̿ẽ͖̖͑̈s̬̯̺̔š̟ͥ͐̍͊̉ͫ ̫̞̪̣̼͍ͬ̿ͪ̂͛ͪ͑Pͤ͐ͮͬ̓ͫ̚a͓̞͙͉̓ͫl̦̬ͮ̉ͯǎ͇̗̮̫͙̿ͨ̋̅̇d̫̣̓͗ͮ̏ͯ̊̚i̟̳ͮ̽n̰̰̬̥̘̙ͭ̆ͯ.̰͆̓̚”̳̖̘_ **

_The pressure returned and the distant ringing returned to deafening, the world blinding in white._  
 _He was screaming. Or at least he thought he was screaming._

**_“̠͉̠͙̫̥̺N̙͇̝͕̄͐̂̈́̾͒ͤo̮̼ ̞̭͙̲̮̣̓̎̾ͤ͌ͅo̯̬ͮͣ̍̂̄ͯn̝͚̥̹̤͋e̺͎ͤ̂͐̚ ̣̼̥̦͍̺̄̎ẁ̮̞̪̥̜̏a̳̜ͨ̇͊͛̆nẗ̃͐͋̆ŝ̬͕͉̹̔̌̑ͩ͆̚ ̤̟̮͓͚̹̓͌̑̔̆͗̂ỳ̳̭̟̎ͫ̾ͭo̳͕u͇̼.̊ͦ̌ ̜͙̒͑ͤ̓ͫ̀̚N̩̯͍̥o ̙͇̣̙͍̾͋͐̔͆͌̚o̙̻̾̈́̐̒̈ͥn̠̘̹͓͍̠̳̾̃ͪẻ̗͕̤̻ͣ͛ͧͥ̌ ̗͔͖̭͖ͫc̞͍͉ͮ̓a͈ͤr͙̲̱̩͛̽e͇͍̳͕̯s͍ͫ̊ͤ̊ ͇̱̥͓͛̌ͨa̓ͯ͑̈b̝ͪo̝̣͙̲ͯ́ǔ̖̦̖̞̙͉̫ͯť͍͉̲̩̩̗͗̂̽̈́͆̚ ͇̟̀̊y̦̯̠̼͔̓̈́͆o͚͒̉ͨū̗͉͋.͎̥̬̻̹ͥ̿͆”̣̺̣̫̬̲͔̿͂́̋̂ͩ_ **

_Then darkness flooded his vision. Falling, falling, falling…_  
_He was...He was…_  
_Who was he?_

**_“͇̗̝̜̦̫Y̫̲͚͙͖̟̬̐̏̈̔̌͆͒o̰͓̻ͥ̽ͮͭ̆ͧ̈u͈̎ͨͯ ̳̠̤̞̺ͭ͐ͦ̏ȧ͙̳͖̳̐̆̋̊ͪṙ̰̱̭̲̺̽̉e͔̹̯̱͑ͣͮͮͣͨ ͩỏ͉̲̩͇̹̥́̎̅̓̒u̜̳̓̂r̆ͣṡ̬̟̋͛ͧ̿̂. ̟̰͕̗͙̆ͤͧ̑O̮͕͓͇̼͂u̮̞͎̖̫̽͌̌̊r̤̭͇̰̜̥̲̂̽̐͐̂s̺ͩ̈̇̎ͪ͑͌.̣̞̠̹”͇͕ͪͭ̾ͅ_ **


	2. Walls

_“Paladins! The Blue Lion-”_

“We know! She dropped in for a visit! We got Lance, but he’s in pretty bad shape!” Keith called out as he raced to his chair in the Red Lion. He felt the lion stir to life, the clear rumble of the lion welcoming him back.

_“Understood!”_

“Where is he now?!”

“With the Blue Lion.” Shiro called out and the four lions raced away from the Galra ship, dodging enemy fire. Blue was the farthest of the group, but still weaving and dodging enemy ships and fire.

 _“You think we can form Voltron??”_ Hunk’s voice echoed to them, yelping as he avoided the ion cannon blast.

_“I don’t know. Lance! Do you think you can manage forming Voltron?”_

_“Y...yeah.”_ Was the weak response, furthering Keith’s worry. There was hesitance from Shiro, just as worried as he was, before he came up with the decision.

_“...Alright, FORM VOLTRON!!”_

It took only a few moments for Voltron, the sensation of the other paladins and the lions becoming one a welcome feeling, ironic he sometimes mused, as he had considered it strange at first. But it also took him only a few seconds to feel something was wrong.

Really, really wrong. 

With the others he could sense them. Their feelings, the lions, their memories and emotions flowing through each other, allowing them to feel one another to be single entity. They each had an energy, something he could pinpoint. But with Lance, it was now as though a dam had been formed, letting just enough energy for the connection for Voltron to form, but not enough to feel Lance.

He was blocking them out, but for what reason?

Was he in that much pain and trying to protect them from it?

No...that didn’t make sense. Lance didn’t have any problems telling, or rather complaining. about his pains before. Why would that change now?

It didn’t go unnoticed by the others.

 _“Lance, you okay?”_ Shiro’s voice rang out.

_“...fine.”_

It was forced, and he was obviously trying to push down emotion and Keith wanted nothing more than to get him as far away as he could from the galra that had snatched him. It was a sentiment shared by the others through the link and they pushed forward.

“We need to disable that canon!” Keith called out as they dodged the fighter planes, explosions surrounding them.

 _“Yeah well, any ideas??”_ Hunk asked sarcastically.

 _“Form sword!”_ Shiro’s voice intercepted before Keith could respond back angrily. He slammed his bayard into its slot, the cockpit coming alive in a brilliant shade of red, the warm thrum of energy flowing through him and then the sound of the blade forming sounded.

Then they were off flying towards the ship, blade in hand.

But it was off.

They were connected…

_But they weren’t._

They were a team...

_But they weren’t._

Lance and Blue were trying to stay connected, the struggle growing more and more prominent as seconds passed and time seemed to grow. A pressure began to build in Keith’s head, and he clutched it, confused. 

He could sense Lance. Hear Lance as his breath grew labored. Panicked.

_“Don’t.”_

**__** __

_**.̛͙͙̮̊̇̐̏̀͊͜"̨̡̧͈̻̫̰̈́̆̏̔̊͝͝O̦̣̱͔̾̑͆͊̑̀͝u̧̧̮̦̟̠͕̅̔̾̄̎ř̢̢̻̳̾̊̊̇͒̆s̡̘̫͒̌̾͆̿̍̚.̛͙͙̮̞̊̇̐̏̀͊͜** _

“Lance? What is-”

_“Not them too! You can’t-”_

“Lance!? Lance what’s-”

**__** __

_**"̲̮̟͎͐̎̑Y̧̰̥̜̐̈̔̽ö̍͘ȕ͘ ̌̔͊ǎ̢̮̹̻̆̕̚ŕ̡̬̯͍̊͐̾ẹ̲̳̱̅̀̌̑ ̛̩̖̞͊̿͝ọ͉̯̗̍̽̕u̎̊̓̅r̋̇͠ş̰͇͎̊̄̐̕.̨͍̖̭́̈̋̀"̢̹̞͖̔̄̌** _

Suddenly it was though Lance had slammed a door shut between him and the others, shutting as much of his connection off as he could.

“Lance!!” He yelled out.

_“WATCH OUT!!”_

Keith looked up just as bright light filled his windshield and a roar echoed in his head. He thought he heard a scream, but he couldn’t be sure as his world became white and deafening silence filled the air. 

 

**__** __

_**“͎̣ͅY̱̞̘͂̽̒ͣ̂ő͓͎̣̼͓̼̼ͭ͐u͍ͬ͂ͭ͒̍ ̓̐̈̅c̦̰̏̔ͅȃ̘n͙͐ͧ̈̾ͯ’̫͇͇̲́ͧ̆ͫẗ̗́ͬ ̼̩̤͕̐̓̉̿ͩeͦs̺ĉ̼̯̻̫̟̖̟̍̉aͮp̩̖̰̺̈́ͫ̎ͅe̥ͪ̏ ̱̞̰̝̩̜̔ͣͅu̫̳̻̼ͅs̪̣̲̞̝̤̋ͨͧ̓͌̐̔,̬͔̙͓̞͙͙ ͕̦̲̹̫ͫ̽̂̀L̖̿a͌͆n͉̣̪͖̖̘̾c͈̘̪͊̊̔e̔̿̓̓ͨͤ.̘̫̤̺̼̞̊ͩ̓”͈̞̩̦̗  
͍̲̊̒ͥ̓͐̌̔** _

_**“̺̤̅͂̇̊̌͂Ÿ͕̘͖͌ͤ̽͊̈́o͔͔̣̣̬ͯ̑̐̂ͦ͐́u̯̝̖ ̮̝͎́̅ͨ͒̍̆c̪̒̓ȃ͈̣̭̥̑ͩ̈̈́ͨ̉n̺̿̿̅͒̔ ̳͎̗̖͋̾ͭ̅ͮͅn̟̭̗̾ͩ͌̽̃̃e͕͆ͤ̑v̯̓ͧ̑̍̇̈́͂eͫ̄̈̃̎r̓ͤͬ͆͛ẻ͉̟̾̇ͮͬͨ̿ͅs̥̤͆͊̂̓c̽͗̊̇͂̏a̽͋p̭ͭ̊̊̃͂̂e̦͎͓̳̯̝̥͊ͥ̈̚̚.͈̟̳͕̦̀͐͌ͯ͋̊”̫̪̄͑̐͋̓̂** _

* * *

_He was floating, floating in this vast darkness. It wasn’t like the space he had grown accustomed to seeing outside the castle every day. It wasn’t even like the darkness his room had when he slept._

_This was just an empty dark._

_It was comforting and quiet. Here he was safe. Nothing could hurt him._

_Why?_

_Why did this have to happen to him? What had he done to deserve this._

_He had only needed a break._

_He had just stepped outside to get some air. The party had been going great, and it was a good chance that Allura and Shiro had gotten the alliance._

_All in all, a good day for Voltron._

_Still, even he had needed a breather from the festivities, as fun as it was._

_He wished he hadn’t set foot out of the palace._

_Suddenly he was back in that place, his ears ringing at the raucous laughter around him. He had excused himself, managing to step outside for a moment and inhaling the cool air._

_This was good._

_Allura and Shiro were probably pleased with the outcome. Hunk and Pidge had started looking at the tech here, so they were having fun. And Keith..._

_He snorted as he thought about Keith. He was probably dying right now, but Shiro had told them to stay for the entire thing to secure the alliance. That meant to him to have some fun. He doubted the same thing applied to Keith._

_He did feel bad for Keith. If he was uncomfortable, he really shouldn’t have had to put up with it. Standing there, feeling out of place...it couldn’t be fun._

_He felt himself flush. Why was he worrying about him? It’s not like Mullet couldn’t take care of him-_

_He started when he spotted someone down in the garden’s, curled up as though in pain. In need of help._

_“Hey! You okay?” He called out, hurrying down the nearby steps and to the figure. He could hear the laughter of the nobles in the castle behind him, but his primary focus was on the person in front of him. “Do you need me to get you anything? Anyone? Are you with someone who…”_

_As he got closer, something made him pause._

_The Minassgans of Obasis Prime were unique in having twin mouths on either side of their neck. Which made them loud. Really, really loud._

_But this one hadn’t made so much as a peep. His breathing wasn’t even labored._

_“Hey, are you okay? We should-” he began again, his hand going to his side to get his bayard. The alien didn’t give him a chance before it rose and smacked it’s clawed fingers on either side of his face, red eyes glowing brightly, blinding him. The scream vanished in his throat. He couldn’t breath, he couldn’t hear._

_He couldn’t think._

 

**__** __

_**”̪͖̜ͪͭ̃͂ͣ̌͐ ̫ͪ̋͛ ̘͖̻͎̲̮̮ͥ̈́͋“̻̭̖̹̳̂S͆͗lͤͨ̍̈́̀ͤͯe̹͒͒̿̀ͩͅẹ̰̞͈̳͆ͪ͑p̆̍́.̏̊ͫ̈́”̪͖̜ͪͭ̃͂ͣ̌͐ ̫ͪ̋͛ ̘͖̻͎̲̮̮ͥ̈́͋** _

_And the world went dark. And then he was falling._

_Falling into the black._

* * *

It took a few minutes for the ringing to stop before Keith could hear anything else but his heartbeat thudding in his head mingling with ringing. It took a few moments longer to realize Shiro was calling him.

_“Keith! Keith come in! Are you alright?”_

Keith blinked several times, groaning slightly.

_“Keith!”_

“I’m here.” he muttered, blinking rapidly to stave off unconsciousness. He heard Shiro exhale in relief. Looking around he saw that Voltron had disengaged, slowly coming to as the Castle tried to defend them and attacked the Galra ship.

_“Hunk checking in. I’m here too.”_

“Me three.” Pidge responded and he could see the Yellow and Green Lions awaken.

_“Lance?”_

Silence answered them.

_“Lance? Lance are still with us? Lance!!”_

Keith looked sharply to the left his heart jumping as he spotted the Blue Lion limp and floating in space.

_“Hunk!”_

_“On it!”_

A blur of yellow shot back past the Black Lion and Keith swallowed back panic as the Blue Lion offered little resistance when her counterpart snagged her, and radio silence only greeted them. The comlink had been damaged, or he had taken off his helmet...those were reasons that no one was responding. Or… He shook his head, refusing to accept that possibility. He was alive. He just had to be. They just got him back. They couldn’t lose him when he was so close.

_“Hunk get The Blue Lion to the Castle, Pidge, contact Coran and tell him we need to have a pod prepared.”_

_“Got it, Shiro! Lance, Lance, can you hear us buddy?! Lance!”_

_“Keith.”_ Shiro’s voice rang out over Hunk’s. _“Are you-”_

“I’m...I’m fine.” Keith swallowed down the edge of panic at the silence from the link to the Blue Lion while they reached the Castle. He barely noticed as Allura sent them through a wormhole, barely avoiding the galra ship still trying to attack them. Keith had barely landed before sprang out of Red, just sensing her distress before he was racing towards the Blue Lion’s hangar, quickly joined by the other Paladins who had exited out of their own lions’ and were racing to the limp lion before the dust had even settled. Slowly, almost as though Blue herself was fighting back grief and desire to protect them from the truth about the occupant inside, the lion’s jaw opened and the ramp plopped down. They weren’t connected to the Blue Lion, not the way Lance was, but they could sense her feelings.

She had tried to take the brunt of the hit in a desperate attempt to protect Lance.

And right then she was in so much pain, grieving as though she hadn’t succeeded. 

Shaking out of his fury mingling with worry, Keith reached the cockpit of the lion alongside Pidge, the door opening with a groan and he spotted a form slumped in the pilot’s seat, one arm dangling limply from the side, the other in an almost deathgrip on the control. Blood dripped lazily to the ground, staining the armor, and sending them into further panic.

“Lance!!”

They crowded around him, Pidge yanking her glove off, pressing it to the prone Paladin’s throat.

“I’ve got a pulse!” Keith heard her exclaim as he cupped the side of Lance’s head. It looked like he had smacked his head against the dashboard from the explosion. The visor had been shattered, and cut on the side of his face had reopened, with blood now running down the left side of his face, pooling and dripping out of his helmet.

“Is he stable enough to move?” Shiro asked as Pidge’s eyes flicked up worriedly.

“I think so?”

That wasn’t reassuring. 

But they didn’t have a choice.

Swallowing Keith bent down and wrapped an arm around Lance’s back, heart snapping at the broken keening sound that left Lance.

“I know it hurts. But we need to get you out.” He said, hoisting Lance up. He swallowed down the panic at how limp Lance suddenly became, how he was struggling to stay conscious, the wet warmth that was spreading alongside Keith’s hand pressed against Lance’s back.

He didn’t race to where the pods were, but it was close.

“You don’t get to die Lance. Not now.”

Lance only responded with a sluggish nod as Keith slid into the medical wing. Coran was already there, his frown deepening at the condition Lance was in. 

“Quickly. We need him out of his armor.” Coran said as Keith placed him on the table, trying to be as gentle as possible. Lance had seemed to have passed out, and offered little resistance as he began to unclip the outer armor, frowning at the damage of it. He hadn’t noticed earlier, but…

Every synapse in his mind stopped as he peeled the upper part of the undersuit off, staring at the span of the other teen’s back. He could hear Coran inhale sharply in shock, but he couldn’t find it in him to do anything but stare.

Scratches, a mixture of old and new, several clearly infected and one that looked recent, covered Lance’s back. The worst was the one carved down his spine looked like it had been split open again, probably the source of the warmth when he had carried Lance here.

His stomach dropped.to his feet.

“What did they do to you?” he barely managed before Lance tried to sit up.

“No...don’...don’t touch…” he began to protest, lips barely moving.

“Lance, Lance stop moving.” Keith ordered, his voice rough, emotion clogging his throat at the small sound Lance let out. He glanced up as the others finally arrived, gasps echoing at the sight. He looked at Shiro, desperate for some type of direction, and the Black Paladin hurried over, squeezing Lance’s shoulder gently.

“Lance, look at me.” Shiro said, calm and gentle. Weakly Lance did so, shaking his head slowly.

“It hurts…”

“I know it does, and you probably don’t want us anywhere near it, but we’re going to make it better, alright?”

Lance was quiet, before nodding weakly, the fight leaving him in an instant as he slumped back onto the table. Keith faintly heard Hunk let out a sob. By the time he and the others had finished undressing and redressing Lance in the white spandex outfit for the pods and gingerly placing him in it, Lance had passed out again.

An uncomfortable silence filtered into the medical ward, none of them able to say anything, but unable to leave the ward as the soft whir of the healing pods echoed through it. Hunk was the first to break, shaking his head and storming away.

“Hunk-”

“I need to go cook. Lance...Lance is going to need something to eat.” Hunk said, his voice quivering and cracking, before he cleared his throat, chancing a glance at Lance before hurrying away.

“...Shiro…?”

“Go on. He needs someone with him.” Shiro replied and Pidge took off after Hunk.

“Why would the Galra go after him?” Allura murmured, her eyes ghosting over the ruined Blue Paladin armor. “ _How_ did the Galra get him?”

“It’s something that we’ll have to figure out.” Shiro replied, his eyes dark with anger. “Right now, we focus on the fact Lance is here and help him when we can.”

Allura nodded.

“I’ll set coordinates immediately for a place to rest. We all need it.”

“Understood. Thank you Allura.”

Keith stared at the pod, swallowing roughly.

“Keith?”

“I’ll...stay here.” He finally said, not looking back, feeling Shiro’s gaze on his back, heat crawling up to his cheeks. “Someone needs to.”

“Alright. I’ll bring you some food in a little bit.”

Keith nodded and the footsteps vanished as he settled, barely noticing as Coran began to check Lance’s vitals, pressing buttons for diagnostics.

He glanced at Lance’s sleeping face, a knot forming in his throat.

He would be fine.

He had to be fine.

But deep down...Keith wondered if that was true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we find out how Lance was snatched

**Author's Note:**

> So this is partially inspired by [Polarspaz's](http://polarspaz.tumblr.com/) [ au of Crazy Lance ](http://polarspaz.tumblr.com/tagged/crazylance-AU). There will be differences, BUT I wanted everyone to know where the general idea came from :)


End file.
